On Tuesday, the Federal High Court in Abuja pronounced Senator Samuel Anyanwu Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) valid National Secretary.
In a verdict, Justice Inyang Ekwo issued an injunction prohibiting the PDP’s national leadership from naming anyone as interim national secretary while Anyanwu’s four-year term is still in effect and will last until December 9, 2025, as stated in the party’s constitution.
Justice Ekwo also declared that any meeting convened or resolution made by the party to prematurely expel or prevent Anyanwu from executing his office’s responsibilities would violate Article 47 (1) of the PDP Constitution (as revised in 2017), rendering it null and void and of no consequence.
The judgment also prohibited the Independent National Electoral Commission, or INEC, from “recognizing any purported appointment of any person as national secretary of the party, whether in acting capacity or otherwise, other than Anyanwu, the elected national secretary of the first defendant (PDP).”
According to the DAILY POST, on November 23, 2023, the court halted the PDP’s removal of Anyanwu as national secretary until the hearing and determination of the substantive matter.
The order came after Dr Joshua Musa, SAN, filed an ex-parte motion on behalf of two party members, Geoffrey Ihentuge and Apollo’s Godspower.
While Ihentuge is the chairman of the Imo PDP’s Ikeduru Local Government, Godspower is the chairman of the state’s Owerri Municipal Local Government.
The plaintiffs sued the PDP, Umar Damagun, the party’s acting national chairman; the National Executive Committee (NEC), the National Working Committee (NWC), and INEC as the first through fifth defendants, respectively.
The plaintiffs, who sought five reliefs, requested an order of temporary injunction preventing the first, second, third, and fourth defendants from carrying out their threat to remove the national secretary (Anyanwu).
They claimed that this breached the provisions of Article 47 (1) of the PDP’s Constitution (as modified in 2017) while the motion on notice was being heard and determined.
They contended that Anyanwu was legitimately elected on December 10, 2021, and was entitled to continue in office until December 9, 2025.